If you've eaten at some of Austin's best restaurants, chances are your dish has arrived on a plate made by ceramicist Keith Kreeger. The owner and designer of Keith Kreeger Studios—located at Canopy, a creative community in East Austin—has made plateware for Uchi, Emmer & Rye, Olamaie and a handful of other stellar restaurants in town, and his talents have spread across the country to places like Empellón in NYC and Alden & Harlow in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We sat down with Kreeger to talk about his business and the importance of being an artist in East Austin.
How did you get started in ceramics?
I studied ceramics in college and just got hooked. Luckily I had some great mentors and found a way to keep doing it after school. I had a [studio] in Cape Cod for 12 years. I moved to Austin in 2009; I wanted to try something new, but it was a little frightening to leave everything. Austin is a very welcoming city, though.
Photograph: David Brendan Hall
How does it feel eating off your own plates at a restaurant?
It’s really inspiring and humbling. I’ve been making pots for a long time, so my work is in homes all over the country. There’s a really big difference in seeing a family of five use it to 300 people in a restaurant eat off of them every night. Not everyone is going to notice [the plates] but the reason I make my work is so that it’s used.
How would you define your style?
I think it’s pretty clean. I used to jokingly call it "handmade industrial." I’m not trying to reinvent what pottery is, I just want my touches to be on there. I think my clients all understand when they pick up my plates that it’s going to feel different than an industrial-made object; it has details that you can’t get from a factory. Having learned about ceramics in an academic setting, I got a really good sense of ceramic history. I look at the big picture of ceramics and how I fit into that.
What do you love about working in East Austin?
There’s a really strong creative community here. I knew that if I moved to the east side I was going to be within the boundaries of the East Austin Studio Tour. I moved here in August 2009; in November, the tour happened and all of a sudden hundreds of people were walking around my studio complex. The studio tour offered a way to connect with a new city and everyone in this town just by being an artist.
How have you seen East Austin change since you opened your studio at Canopy?
East Austin is booming, for sure. Once [Sa-Ten] café opened up next door, this became a hub for the neighborhood. Cities grow or die; Austin is never going to stay the same. I think with growth, as long as restaurants and the creative world are driving part of the conversation, we’re going to be in good shape.
Want some of Kreeger's plateware for your own home? You can shop for plates, bowls, vases and more here.
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